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Five couples win fertility treatments in controversial radio contest

Five couples have been awarded IVF treatments worth $35,000 through a controversial contest staged by an Ottawa radio station.

Ryan and Natasha Derouchie are one of five couples to win three fertility treatments through a controversial contest sponsored by an Ottawa radio station. (COURTESY OF NATASHA DEROUCHIE / SUBMITTED PHOTO)

By Emily JacksonStaff Reporter

Tues., Oct. 11, 2011

After countless attempts to start a family, Natasha and Ryan Derouchie — better known as Couple A — are one of five couples to “win a baby” through a controversial contest staged by an Ottawa radio station.

The “Win a Baby!” contest pitted five couples desperate to conceive against each other to win a prize of three in-vitro fertility treatments worth $35,000. The winner was to be the couple that received the most votes from the public.

On Tuesday morning, however, after “tens of thousands” of votes had been cast, New Hot 89.9 ultimately awarded all five finalists a prize.

“The second before the announcement felt like forever,” Natasha Derouchie said after a sleepless night. “I had to hear it twice.”

The contest proved controversial among ethicists, infertility advocates and some listeners. Others praised the station, however, for bringing the issue some much-needed attention. While fertility treatments are now publicly funded in Quebec, they are not in Ontario.

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Morning show host Jeff Mauler said he and his team realized how heartbreaking it would be for the other four couples in the finals to watch someone else win.

“It just didn’t sit right,” he said.

His station approved a budget of up to $175,000 so all five couples could be eligible for treatment. A few couples had emerged as the leaders in a tight race, although the station will not release which ones, Mauler said.

The couples still gathered in the studio without knowing which of them would be awarded the prize.

“Watching every other couple walk in, seeing their faces, meeting them, putting names to the letters — the energy in the room was indescribable,” Derouchie said.

“We were wishing each other good luck, but we all wanted to be chosen.”

“I was shaking,” said Tracy Broad, another of the contestants. Tuesday was also her 30th birthday.

Although she’d never entered a contest before, Broad applied to “win a baby” immediately after hearing the advertisement. She and her husband Nathan, or Couple C, tried for three years to have a child but couldn’t afford IVF treatment.

“I owe so much to that station for the gift that they’ve given my husband and me,” she said. “It’s been a miracle.”

Even though the contest ended well, it was still emotionally exploitative, said Arthur Schafer, director at the Centre for Professional and Applied Ethics at the University of Manitoba.

“The fact that everyone won doesn’t take away from that.”

Meet the couples

Couple A: Has been trying for a family since they got married five years ago. They also dealt with a car accident and a layoff.

Couple B: Together for four years, they have trouble putting into words how much they want a baby. “I feel like I have lost part of my heart. We feel stuck in limbo, life is moving on without us while others live our dream.”

Couple C: Tried everything to have a baby — they quit smoking, eat healthy and take vitamins, but nothing has worked.

Couple D: Has been best friends since they were kids. They thought the male partner would never be able to have children due to a reproductive malformation, but they recently discovered this is not the case — they can potentially conceive through IVF.

Couple E: Cannot conceive naturally because four years ago, the man was in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic and diminished his sperm count.

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